What a Walk-In Shower Remodel Really Costs and Takes in Lely Resort, FL
A walk-in shower remodel in Lely Resort, FL typically ranges from $9,000 to $28,000, with most projects landing between $12,000 and $18,000 for a full gut-and-replace using mid-grade tile and fixtures. A straightforward shower replacement where plumbing stays put and the pan is prefabricated can start around $4,500, while a curbless custom build with body sprays, a linear drain, and floor-to-ceiling porcelain slab pushes toward the high end. Call (844) 638-7249 for a free on-site estimate that lays out real numbers for your specific bathroom and your specific choices, not a ballpark range from a brochure.
How We Build a Walk-In Shower, Step by Step
The sequence matters because what you pick at each stage locks in options for the next one. Here is the real order of operations we follow on every walk-in shower remodel in Lely Resort, with the decisions you’ll make along the way.
Stage 1: Demolition and discovery (day 1, 4-6 hours). We protect the rest of the bathroom floor and the hallway with ram board, set up dust containment, and remove the existing shower enclosure, wall board, and pan down to the studs and subfloor. This is the moment of truth. We inspect the studs for rot, the subfloor for water damage, and the supply lines for corrosion. In Lely Resort homes built in the mid-1990s through early 2000s, we often find greenboard behind original tile instead of cement board. Greenboard soaks up moisture like a sponge in coastal humidity and almost always needs to come out. We show you what we find before a single new board goes up.
Stage 2: Plumbing and valve rough-in (day 2, 4-8 hours). If you’re keeping the existing plumbing locations, this stage is quick: we replace the old mixing valve with a modern pressure-balanced or thermostatic valve and cap off or relocate the tub spout if you’re converting from a tub-shower combo. If you want the showerhead on a different wall or you’re adding body sprays, a rain head, or a handheld on a slide bar, this stage takes longer and costs more. Relocating a shower valve and running new copper or PEX through studs in a CBS wall adds real labor hours. You decide the valve type, the number of outlets, and whether you want a diverter before the wall gets closed. We dry-fit everything and pressure-test the lines.
Stage 3: Pan and waterproofing (day 3, full day). This is the step where cutting corners causes the most damage down the road. We build the shower pan with a pre-sloped mortar bed or a high-density prefabricated foam pan, then apply a bonded sheet membrane or liquid-applied waterproofing across the entire floor and up the walls to at least six feet. Every seam and screw penetration gets sealed. The curb, if you want one, gets framed and wrapped in the same waterproofing system. Curbless showers need the subfloor to be recessed or the bathroom floor to be built up so the pan slopes properly without a step. We install the drain assembly – center or linear – and flood-test the pan for 24 hours before tile touches the floor. No shortcuts on waterproofing, ever.
Stage 4: Tile, niches, and benches (days 4-7, 3-4 days). Tile installation starts with the walls and finishes with the floor so we don’t walk on fresh floor tile. This is where the material you chose in stage 1 meets reality. Large-format porcelain panels go up faster than subway tile. Mosaic accents on a niche back or a shampoo shelf add layout time. If we’re building a floating corner bench or a monument bench, it gets framed and waterproofed before tile wraps it. Grout goes in on day 7, and we let it cure for 24 hours before sealing. You pick the grout color and whether you want epoxy grout – which costs more but resists staining in Lely Resort’s iron-heavy well water far better than cement-based grout.
Stage 5: Glass, trim, and finish (days 8-10, 1-2 days). The shower door gets measured after tile is up because even a quarter inch of variation changes the glass dimensions. Frameless heavy-glass panels and doors take 5 to 10 business days to fabricate, so there’s a gap between tile completion and glass install. We set the fixtures during this gap: showerhead, handheld, controls, and the trim plate. Once the glass is in, we run the shower, check for leaks, adjust the door sweep, and silicone every joint. The shower is ready to use the same day the glass is set.
The Options You’ll Choose Between
Walk-in showers are not one-size-fits-all, and the choices you make here shape both the final price and how the shower feels every morning. Here are the real trade-offs, stated plainly.
- Prefabricated pan vs. custom mortar bed. A solid-surface or acrylic prefab pan costs less and installs in hours. It limits you to standard sizes and a center drain. A custom mortar bed lets us slope precisely to a linear drain, build a curbless entry, and use any floor tile you want. It adds labor and curing time but gives you the seamless, high-end look most Lely Resort homeowners want.
- Curb vs. curbless. A curb contains the water and keeps the glass simpler. A curbless shower flows straight into the bathroom floor and requires the pan to be recessed or the bathroom subfloor raised. Curbless is more expensive but is the right choice if you’re planning to age in place or want a clean, hotel-spa aesthetic. In Lely Resort’s concrete-slab homes, recessing a pan means cutting into the slab, which adds cost and permits.
- Wall material: porcelain tile, porcelain slab, or solid surface. Porcelain tile is the most common and gives you the widest design range. Large-format porcelain slabs mean fewer grout lines and a more monolithic look. Solid-surface panels from brands like Onyx Collection eliminate grout entirely but limit you to a handful of colors and patterns. Tile and slab need periodic sealing. Solid surface doesn’t.
- Glass: framed, semi-frameless, or frameless. Framed glass costs the least but looks dated. Semi-frameless uses a metal header and bottom track with frameless sides. Frameless heavy-glass panels and a swinging door look sharp and modern. Frameless is the standard choice in Lely Resort remodels but costs two to three times what framed glass does. Glass coatings that resist hard-water spotting are worth the upcharge given Southwest Florida’s mineral-heavy water.
- Fixtures and valves. A single-function pressure-balanced valve with one showerhead is the baseline. Adding a thermostatic valve with separate volume controls for a rain head, handheld, and body sprays jumps the fixture budget significantly. Kohler and Delta both make reliable thermostatic valves. If you want the shower to run while you’re still in bed, digital controls add another layer of cost.
What Walk-In Showers and Shower Remodeling Cost in Lely Resort, FL
A walk-in shower remodel in Lely Resort runs $9,000 to $28,000, with the final number shaped by five variables that move the needle far more than the size of the shower alone.
Plumbing location changes. Keeping the drain, supply lines, and valve exactly where they are today keeps the labor bill predictable. Moving the drain even twelve inches on a concrete slab requires saw-cutting, concrete removal, and re-pouring, which adds days and dollars. Relocating the valve to a different wall means opening more drywall, running new supply lines, and re-routing the riser to the showerhead. On a CBS home, that means chipping into block and patching afterward.
Waterproofing method. A basic PVC pan liner with cement board walls costs the least upfront but does not hold up to Florida humidity as well as a bonded waterproofing system. Schluter Kerdi, Laticrete Hydro Ban, or similar sheet-and-liquid systems add $800 to $1,500 in materials and labor but give you a fully sealed, vapor-tight enclosure that will not wick moisture into the wall cavity over years of daily use.
Tile and slab selection. Ceramic wall tile starts around $3 per square foot. Porcelain runs $5 to $12. Large-format porcelain slabs and book-matched marble-look panels can hit $25 per square foot before installation. The labor to install large-format panels is also higher because of the precision cutting and handling required. Mosaic accents, niche trim, and decorative bands add layout time and material cost.
Glass configuration. A standard sliding bypass door on a framed track costs a few hundred dollars. A custom frameless enclosure with a heavy-glass door and inline panel measured to the millimeter and fabricated off-site typically runs $1,800 to $3,500 depending on width and height. If you want a steam-shower-rated enclosure with a transom and tighter seals, expect to be at the higher end.
Permit scope and HOA review. In Lely Resort, a shower remodel that changes the shower footprint, moves plumbing, or cuts into the slab requires a Collier County plumbing permit and an inspection. A like-for-like replacement with no footprint change may not. We include the permit cost and the inspection coordination in our estimate. The Lely Resort Architectural Review Board generally does not review interior-only remodels, but if your shower remodel is part of a larger addition or lanai-to-bathroom conversion that touches the exterior, the ARB submission enters the timeline. Our estimate spells out what is included: demolition, disposal, materials, labor, permits, and the final clean. What is not included: structural repairs found after demolition, mold remediation if water damage extends beyond the shower footprint, and any electrical work beyond the existing circuit.
What Lely Resort Homes Specifically Do to This Job
Most Lely Resort homes were built between the mid-1990s and the 2010s, which means the original bathrooms in the earlier-phase communities like the Classics and the Players Club are now hitting 25 to 30 years old. These are CBS homes on concrete slabs, so the shower pan typically sits directly on the slab with a PVC liner that has been slowly degrading. We routinely find that the liner has cracked at the corners where it was folded, letting moisture seep into the slab and the bottom plate of the adjacent walls. In a humid coastal environment where the wet-season water table sits close to grade, that trapped moisture never fully dries. The result is efflorescence on the outside of the shower curb, loose floor tile just outside the shower, and baseboard swelling in the bathroom. When we demo a shower in Lely Resort, we budget time for sub-slab repair and bottom-plate replacement because we expect to find it. Our estimates account for this upfront, not as a change order.
On the permitting side, any shower remodel that moves a drain or cuts the slab triggers a Collier County plumbing permit and a rough-in inspection. The county inspector verifies the pan flood test and the valve rough-in before we close the wall. We pull the permit, schedule the inspection, and walk it through. Interior remodels that do not change the home’s footprint generally stay outside the ARB review process, which is a scheduling advantage over exterior projects. If you are pairing a walk-in shower with a full Bathroom Remodeling in Lely Resort project that expands the bathroom into a closet or lanai, the ARB and building permit scope grow. We sometimes see homeowners bundle a shower remodel with a Roof Replacement & Installation in Lely Resort project when they are doing a whole-home renovation, and we coordinate the trades so the interior work doesn’t get rained on. This is also the moment when some clients ask about Metal Roofing in Lely Resort as a long-term upgrade while we are already mobilized on site.
Our Bathroom Remodeling crew has worked in enough Lely Resort homes to know that the valve body behind a 1998 shower wall is likely a builder-grade Moen or Delta that has been cycling through hard water for three decades. We replace it with a modern pressure-balanced or thermostatic valve as a standard part of the rough-in, not as an add-on line item. The difference in water temperature stability is immediate, and it brings the plumbing up to current Florida Building Code without you having to ask for it.
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Frequently Asked Questions About Walk-In Showers and Shower Remodeling in Lely Resort
A complete walk-in shower remodel from demolition to final glass install takes 8 to 12 working days, spread across about three weeks when you account for the tile curing time and the glass fabrication gap. Demolition and plumbing rough-in take two days. Waterproofing and pan construction take one day, plus 24 hours to flood-test. Tile takes three to four days. Grout cures for a day, then the glass gets measured. Glass fabrication takes 5 to 10 business days, and the glass install itself is a half-day job. If you are keeping the same footprint and plumbing locations, the timeline trends toward the faster end. Every change to plumbing or footprint adds a day or two. Call (844) 638-7249 for a timeline estimate specific to your bathroom.
You need a Collier County permit if the remodel relocates plumbing, cuts into the concrete slab, or changes the shower’s footprint. A direct swap where the new shower sits in the same spot with the same drain location and no slab work may not require a permit, but we still pull one when we are replacing the mixing valve because the plumbing inspection protects you. We handle the permit application, the rough-in inspection, and the final sign-off. Interior remodels that stay within the existing bathroom footprint generally do not trigger review by the Lely Resort Architectural Review Board.
Yes, and it is one of the most common projects we do in Lely Resort. The tub drain becomes the shower drain. The existing supply lines and valve stay in the same stud bay. We remove the tub, build the shower pan in the tub’s footprint, extend the walls down to the pan, and install a glass enclosure. The drain pipe diameter sometimes needs to be upsized from the tub’s 1-1/2 inches to a shower-required 2 inches, which adds a small plumbing change but rarely requires slab cutting if the bathroom is on the second floor or over a crawl. On a slab-on-grade home, upsizing the drain does mean cutting the slab. Our $3,500 to $10,000 range for tub-to-shower conversions reflects these variables.
Our 730-Day Done Right Promise covers workmanship on the shower remodel: if something is not done right, we make it right, no fine print and no runaround. The tile, grout, fixtures, and glass carry their own manufacturer warranties which we register on your behalf. The waterproofing system – whether Schluter, Laticrete, or a comparable system – carries a manufacturer warranty that can extend 10 years or more when installed by a certified applicator. We use bonded waterproofing systems specifically because Lely Resort’s humidity exposes any weakness in a shower assembly within the first year, and a properly installed membrane system simply will not leak.
We build the estimate around real allowances for tile, fixtures, glass, and accessories based on the selections you make during the design consult. Our upfront pricing means the number you see is the number you pay. If you pick a $4-per-square-foot ceramic tile, the line item reflects that. If you fall in love with a $22-per-square-foot porcelain slab, we adjust the allowance and you see the new total before we order anything. We do not write estimates with vague “allowance” language that leaves you guessing at the final cost. Call (844) 638-7249 to schedule a free in-home estimate and design consult for your walk-in shower remodel in Lely Resort.
Schedule Your Free Walk-In Shower Estimate in Lely Resort
A walk-in shower is a daily-use space, and getting the waterproofing, the slope, the glass, and the fixtures right the first time saves you from a very expensive do-over. We’ll come to your Lely Resort home, talk through the options you actually care about, take measurements, and hand you a written, itemized estimate that reflects real material choices, not placeholder allowances. Call (844) 638-7249 to set up the visit. A real person answers, day or night, and we’ll have a background-checked estimator at your door ready to talk specifics, not sell you a brochure.
Written by Derek Hollenbeck, Owner at Groundwork Construction Co., serving Lely Resort with upfront pricing and a 730-Day Done Right Promise.